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From the Montreal Gazette, Friday, April 24, 2009

Residents favour EPA wood stoves, poll suggests

Two-thirds of residents of Greater Montreal are opposed to an outright ban on new woodstoves, like the one the city of Montreal is poised to approve as early as Monday, a new poll shows.

The Ipsos Descarie poll made public yesterday found respondents favour new rules requiring that all wood stoves, including those already installed, meet United States Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Some local suburbs, like Pointe Claire, already have bylaws requiring EPA compliance. Others, like Dollard des Ormeaux, are looking at similar bylaws.

The Ipsos poll was commissioned by the Association des professionnels du chauffage, the association that represents wood stove manufacturers and dealers and others in the heating industry.

Montreal held three days of hearings last month into its proposed bylaw. The bylaw would impose a ban on the installation of new wood stoves and wood-burning fireplaces only. It is up for adoption Monday by city council.

In a related move, the city says it's asking Quebec for a subsidy program to encourage existing wood stove owners to convert to gas, electric or wood pellet stoves.

Quebec has no rules on wood stoves but it is writing its own new regulations. The association that commissioned the poll says Montreal should postpone voting on its bylaw until it sees what kind of rules the province produces.